"Memoirs of a Geisha"

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

I begin my film-reviewing blog with a film that I have watched countless times and have never become bored with, "Memoirs of a Geisha."



This masterpiece of cinematography, art direction and costume design won 3 Oscars in the afore-mentioned categories. Featuring Ziyi Zhang ("House of Flying Daggers", "Hero"), Ken Watanabe ("Batman Begins", "The Last Samurai") and Michelle Yeoh ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Tomorrow Never Dies"), "Memoirs of a Geisha" is truly a pearl of the Orient.

Plot synopsis:
The film tells the tale of Chiyo as she is sold to a Geisha house at a very young age along with her sister in pre-wartime Japan. She is separated from her sister in the bustling town of Hanamachi, a far cry from her own fishing village, and is put to work in the Nitta Okiya in Kyoto's Gion district.

She is emotionally and physically abused at the Okiya and is at the mercy of the strict Nitta and the vinidictive, cold-hearted Hatsumomo, the head Geisha at the Okiya. As time goes on, her prospects of becoming a geisha herself look bleak. In one scene, as she sits lonely upon a bridge amidst all her work as a virtual slave to the Okiya, she comes upon the Chairman who shows her such kindness that she has not yet experienced. She swears to herself at that instant that all the determination she has to become geisha comes from the one desire to see the Chairman once again. After her countless prayers, she finally gets the chance to become meiko (apprentice geisha) after a rival geisha, Mameha, takes her on as her protegée very unexpectedly.

Chiyo's training begins and the more she learns the art of elegance, the more she learns the harsh reality behind the life of a geisha. Her dreams come true as she meets the Chairman again but soon learns of the rules of love amongst geisha. Her determination to see him more and more increases. Within months, she is renamed Sayuri and becomes a full-fledged geisha. Her progress is so great that she becomes the most celebrated and famous Geisha in Kyoto. But as war approaches Japan and life is uncertain for everyone, her fame is short-lived and all that she has striven for is cruelly taken away.

As war ends and Sayuri tries to revive the geisha way, her struggle to win the love of the Chairman peeks and we wonder whether or not she is to achieve that which she set out to do from years gone by.

My thoughts:
I enjoy this film every time I watch it. The costume design and the art direction is unbelievable. The scenery of pre-wartime Japan is exquisite and it is a feast for the eyes throughout. The music also contributes greatly to it creating that perfect Oriental aura.
I am aware that the film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Arthur Golden. Unfortunately, I am yet to read this and could not make a just statement on how true the film is to the novel.
I really find it captivating to learn about Japanese culture through film but I wouldn't, by any means, take this as true about Japanese culture. The film was produced in America, it was largely for an American/Western audience and the majority of actors are Chinese - this contributes to the inaccuracy to true contemporary Japanese culture. Despite this, the film is still great in portraying one woman's story, her struggles and her achievements in a world that was evidently forced upon her.
The story is esentially a love story and we can see throughout the film that it may not just centre on Sayuri's issues with love but also of Hatsumomo and Mamahe. They show 3 different angles to the problems they all had to face, all of which are from Sayuri's perspective.
The performances in the film are generally good but with no scenes "powerful" enough to be remembered years from now.

All in all, it is a great film. If the story doesn't interest you, the attention to detail in design, set, effects, etc. is enough to put on your "Films I Have To Watch!" list!

9/10